Snappers offense leads to sweep of Bees

The Snappers’ bats remained ablaze on Sunday afternoon as they knocked off the Bees, 6-0. The win completed the series sweep of Burlington in which Beloit was merciless at the plate; they scored a combined 22 runs against the Bees’ pitching staff in just three games. Meanwhile, Beloit starter Heath Fillmyer (2-13, 5.20 ERA) kept Burlington’s offense at bay in one of his better starts of the season.

In recent days, the Snappers’ offense has been getting them on the board early with a big inning, putting the game away quickly and giving the starter some breathing room. That was exactly what happened on Sunday. The second batter of the game, Justin Higley, hit a double to left field. One out later, Jose Brizuela lined an RBI double down the right field line to give the Snappers the early lead.

The bats heated up again in the third inning when Beloit put up a crooked number against Burlington starter Austin Robichaux (8-7, 3.89 ERA). Tim Proudfoot led off the inning with a single, and then one batter later, Higley drew a walk. Max Kuhn capitalized and drove them both in with a double to left field. But that wasn’t the end of the damage, as Brizuela crushed a two-run bomb over the right field wall to cap a four-run inning. The home run was Brizuela’s ninth of the season. The Snappers tacked on another run in the fifth inning on Kuhn’s RBI single.

Six runs of support were more than enough for Fillmyer, who threw five shutout innings while allowing just three hits. He walked three and struck out a season-high seven. After an extremely rough start to the season that saw him go 0-8 with an 8.24 ERA, Fillmyer has turned it around in a big way, as he’s posted a 2.76 ERA in 11 starts since the end of June. He’s had multiple tough luck losses that have led to a 2-5 record during that span, but his offense helped him out on Sunday.

It’s also worth noting the bullpen’s work in Sunday’s win. Mike Fagan and Lee Sosa threw two scoreless innings each to give Beloit its first shutout at home in 2015. It was the Snappers’ second shutout overall this season, as they held Great Lakes scoreless in a road game back on August 4.

Several Snappers had great days at the plate once again on Sunday. Leading the way was Brizuela, who went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, and three RBIs. Kuhn also had a big game, going 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. Higley went 2-for-4 with a double to contribute to the red-hot offense.

The Snappers will start a three-game series against Kane County tonight at 7:00 p.m. Beloit will face Ethan Elias (10-5, 3.07 ERA) while the Snappers will throw Daniel Gossett (4-12, 5.26 ERA).